China's website clampdown

News websites in China have begun requiring new users to register their true identities before allowing them to post comments – a move rejected by internet companies and users in the past.

The world's largest internet population – with about 340 million users – is heavily policed but tends to resist new curbs. A 2006 proposal to introduce real-name registration on blog hosting sites was beaten back, but few appear to have noticed the introduction of the policy on leading Chinese portals including Sina, Netease and Sohu.

The New York Times reported that the shift in policy resulted from secret government orders issued in July, citing unnamed senior editors at two of the leading sites affected. They told the newspaper that one of the bodies overseeing the internet had deemed it a state secret, preventing media from publishing reports on it. One editor said the change was introduced under the radar because "the influence of public opinion on the net is still too big".

Earlier this year officials retreated from attempts to install the "Green Dam" filtering system on every new computer after an online outcry and heavy lobbying by manufacturers.